1. Budget ‘gift’ means petrol price to fall
The leaks have started and a fuel tax cut will be the big giveaway from tomorrow’s Budget. The AFR says the cut in the fuel tax, which will bring the price of petrol down, will be in for at least six months. The current slug on our petrol price is 44.2 cents a litre and if Treasurer Frydenberg cuts the levy by 5 cents a litre, it will cost the Budget’s bottom line $1 billion.

2. US allies distance themselves from Biden’s statement that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”
US President Joe Biden is said to have added fuel to the already out of control fire that is the Ukraine war with his inflammatory comment in reference to Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a speech in Warsaw: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” US allies including the French and UK governments were quick to distance themselves from the remark.

“We shouldn’t escalate, with words or actions,” said French President, Emmanuel Macron. Biden has damage to repair after his comments “made a difficult situation more difficult and a dangerous situation more dangerous,” Richard Haass, president of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, said on Twitter. Senior White House officials have made attempts to clarify the President’s comments, such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who argued Biden’s point was “that President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggresion against Ukraine, or anywhere else”.

3. Budget change to giving employees shares
Tomorrow’s Budget is also set to put the Aussie tech company landscape on par with Silicon Valley. Treasurer Frydenberg is likely to lower and even remove the cap on employee share schemes, with experts arguing that the ability to offer greater ownership to more team members will increase the likelihood of these companies becoming more successful. Currently, a $5,000 cap applies to shares or options granted to employees in unlisted companies but any amount over that has discouraging tax implications. The cap could be lifted to $30,000.

4. Aussie billionaire’s list
The rich list is out and Gina Rinehart is our richest with $32.28 billion, and another iron ore miner Twiggy Forrest of Fortescue Metals is number 2 with $29.6 billion. Our top two rich Aussies have benefitted from the spike in iron ore prices, which have risen 60% since November last year. They’re followed by Anthony Pratt who owns cardboard company Visy, on $27.7 billion. Then tech entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar of Atlassian are on $26 billion. Clive Palmer is number 7 on $18.3 billion, despite his huge outlays on political ads.

5. ASX set for flat start to week as rise in bond yields continues
Australian shares are headed for a drop of 0.1% or 8 points from Friday’s close of 7406.2 points, according to futures, with the AUD +0.1% to 75.20 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +0.4% S&P 500 +0.5% Nasdaq -0.2%. Brent crude +1.4% to $US120.65 a barrel. 2-year yield: US +0.14% (2.27%) Australia +0.08% (1.55%). 10-year yield: US +0.11% (2.47%) Australia +0.01% (2.77%).